Looty

I believe there were rumors about Renegade not being ready for opening day but they hauled ass the last few weeks and had it ready. I'm not 100%, but I thought I heard something about that...

^Wow that's a bummer that it isn't opening with the park in April. I was planning on going down there opening weekend

I think this contest would be a piece of cake for me...especially considering that the Avatar contest last year only lasted like 22 hours. Robert Rodriguez did indeed cancel for an "unknown" reason. From what I am hearing (and this is pure speculation), it sounds like he is high maintenance.

Nice report. I was down in Texas on my spring break last week and all of the parks were empty...especially Sea World. Everything was a walk on. I also loved the sea lion show (especially the walrus doing the sit-ups).

I believe the "Ride King" is coming to NU this weekend as well. I think his name is Robert Rodriguez or something like that (the guy in the Guiness Book who rode The Boss for most consecutive rides) and he will be riding both Spongebob and Orange Streak nonstop in an attempt to break his own record. I'm a little surprised we haven't heard more from the mall because I believe it is this weekend (or possibly next weekend) that he will be doing this.

I have seen a ton of celebs while working at the Mall of America (the most recent being Joan Rivers a few weeks ago...ugh!). In fact, I would say that there is usually someone "famous" there every 1-3 weeks signing autographs and such. It's neat to walk into work every once in awhile and see a celebrity in the rotunda in front of a huge crowd of fans waiting for pictures and autographs. Others include (and these are celebs not scheduled to be there already): Lindsay Lohan (who was a real snob while there too). Nick Carter Fall Out Boy (I ran Mighty Axe for them). Brooke & Hulk Hogan Ashley Simpson Mario Lopez Farrah Fawcett Kelly Pickler (I checked her lap bar on Timberland Twister) Sean Kingston (Who was too large to ride Mighty Axe btw) Bam Margera Pretty Ricky (which caused a stampede that left my supervisor in crutches after she was trampled) My favorite celebrity encounter though is when I bumped shoulders with Chris Brown in a back hallway of the mall. My friend and I were on break and walking down a hallway with our lunch (Arby's I believe ) when suddenly the doors at the end of the hallway burst open and in walks Chris Brown and his possy escorted by a bunch of security guards (all of which were shorter than the entire possy). I was completely unaware of who he was at the time until the girl working at Kemps ice cream abandoned her post and went running down the hallway after him screaming his name and offering him Rocky Road. My first thought when I saw them was that they were getting kicked out or something because of the security guards. When they got closer, I clutched my curly fries and hugged the wall while they all walked by me and Chris Brown ended up bumping my shoulder...good thing i didn't give him any lip! I'm sure I am forgetting a lot. There are also a ton of local celebrities that come as well like Vikings & Twins players. Lots of news anchors and others. I actually had to staple Matt Birk into the Camp Bus so he could ride with his little girl (for those who don't know him, he is the former eight-time pro bowl center for the Vikings who happens to weigh 300-something pounds). I also saw Mike Boodley, Clair Hain, and the rest of the GCI crew at Valleyfair on opening day 2007

Here is a reply that the Facebook group "Save Valleyfair" got from CF: "Thank you for your interest in Valleyfair. We do not have any plans to close this park. While the park is for sale, we are still in the very preliminary part of any sale process. The park will operate this summer as usual and we will continue to provide our guests with the best experience available. The park will even be better this year as we debut our new wave pool, Breakers Bay . It is a 350,000 gallon wave pool that will be sure to thrill our guests. With the addition of the wave pool, Valleyfair will change the name of its waterpark to Soak City . Thank you for writing to us and expressing your concerns. Guest feedback is very important to us. We look forward to seeing you this summer at Valleyfair! Regards, Investor Relations"

He kinda looked like that guy from Silence of the Lambs!

^Wow!...thanks a lot. That is helpful information indeed.

Don't forget to wear your bullet-proof vest just in case you run into one of the employees in the parking lot!

Can anyone confirm that BB has reopened?

Here is a email I received today from Diane Vidoni who is the Director of Conference & Tradeshow Operations: I'm happy to provide additional information. The program is an intern program (unpaid) during our annual conference and tradeshow. Show Ambassadors assist all IAAPA staff with tradeshow logistics, education sessions, general customer service, events, etc. Ambassadors are responsible for travel to Las Vegas, and IAAPA provides housing, uniform shirts, breakfast and lunch daily. In addition, a small stipend is given to each ambassador for dinners and other incidentals. Additional information can also be found on our web-page: http://www.iaapa.org/expos/attractions/ShowAmbassador/ An application will be available in late-April. Please let me know if I can provide any additional information. Best regards, Diane F Vidoni Director, Conference & Tradeshow Operations

Hi TPR, I'm looking for advice or information (that's not already posted on their website) regarding the IAAPA Ambassador program (internship). I'm looking to work in the amusement industry so I think this would be a tremendous opportunity to meet people. I also will be going abroad in 2010 and will be living about 1 hour from the Vekoma headquarters in the Netherlands so I would definitely like to meet them and perhaps discuss the possibility of interning with them as well. If anyone has been a IAAPA Ambassador...what are your thoughts on it??? Thanks

Hello TPR, I am a college student studying marketing at Minnesota State University, Mankato and am looking for financial assistance. I am currently going to school full-time and working full-time at Nickelodeon Universe. I would absolutely love to work for a park after I graduate (and i don't mean selling Dip N' Dots). I will be going abroad to the Netherlands in 2010 so I am trying to save as much as i can now. Basically, I am looking for any scholarship opportunities that you may know of that may relate to this industry (I would even consider doing Mark Shapiro's laundry for a month or two if need be ). If anyone has any information or advice, I would truly appreciate it. Thanks

It's back open now...and still Paul Bunyan!

Hello TPR, I'll be going abroad in 2010 and living in Arnhem, Netherlands. I most definitely want to visit as many parks in the Netherlands (and surrounding countries) as possible but have no idea as to how to get to them without the use of a car. I know that taking a train would be a good start so i am not worried about the whole train aspect at all. I am interested in learning how to get to the parks after I get off at the nearest train/bus stations. Any info regarding accessibility (easy or not so easy) to the parks near the Netherlands is greatly appreciated. Thanks

^It usually goes down for two weeks so I would imagine that it will not be open by next friday.

IT"S NOT GETTING RE-THEMED RIGHT NOW!!!

Calm down everyone!...Paul Bunyan is staying (for now). Log Chute is simply down for its annual rehab. I'm told that plans for re-theming have been put on the back burner due to a rather disappointing summer.

Any idea as to how long BB will be down? I'm heading down to Texas the first week in March and am hoping to swing by and give it a ride.

17/20! I truly am pathetic...

I used to be a ride operator at one time and I can say that you need to treat everyone as if they are completely unaware of their own safety. I have witnessed some rather dumb moves and completely unsafe procedures by both guests and employees so I feel that it is important for parks and manufacturers to make their rides as dumb-proof as possible. I am somewhat surprised that Disney didn't have some sort of safety/security procedure set in place for something like this especially considering that young children are in abundance at Disneyland.

^Ah. Thanks for your expertise.

^I know it's kind of a dumb question but I wanted to make sure because I know my 08' CF maxpass doesn't expire until 3/09.

I know this is a little random, but does anyone know when playpasses expire? I have a 08' playpass and I would like to visit sometime soon but I'm not sure if mine is still valid due to there not being an expiration date posted on it. Thanks.